Presse

One
of Germany's up and coming pairs teams is that of
Mari-Doris Vartmann, 16 years old and Florian Just,
who is 23. The team finished fourth last season
at German Nationals but made a strong showing at
the 2005 Nebelhorn Trophy finishing third in the
short and sixth overall, ahead of Rebecca Handke
and Daniel Wende who made the podium at the 2005
German Nationals. "We were happy about our
short but we could have done better in the long,"
Just said. "But it was quite OK for our first
international." "We're hoping to reach
the European Championships this season," Vartmann
added. "We plan to skate until 2010 at the
minimum."
Both
skaters started in the sport when they were between
four and five years old. Vartmann recalled, "Some
neighbors were going to the ice rink and asked me
if I wanted to go with them. I liked it and wanted
to keep skating." She won the German junior
ladies title in 2002 and was second as a guest skater
at French Nationals in juniors the same year.
Just
went to public skating with his parents and saw
some figure skaters practicing on a quarter of the
rink. "I wanted to skate as well as them,"
he said. He also competed in roller-skating in the
summer, winning the German national title five times
in his age group before quitting to concentrate
on figure skating when he was 13. "Ice skating
is more recognized by the public," he said.
"It's more
professional." Just won the Junior Grand Prix
in Zagreb during the 1999-2000
season,
reaching the Junior Grand Prix Final that year.
He finished as high as fifth in seniors at German
Nationals.
But
he wanted to try pairs. "There's much more
stuff you can do together than you can in singles,"
he said. He started skating pairs over two years
ago but never competed with his first partner. In
early 2004, he and Vartmann started training together.
"I always watched pairs training and liked
it a lot," she said. "I like the lifts."
"She's always fun to work with," Just
noted.
The
couple train for three to four hours a day, six
days a week, in Dortmund with another two hours
a day in off ice training. Knut Schubert coaches
the pair and Natascha Devisch does their choreography.
For the 2005-06 season, Vartmann and Just are using
"Libertango" for their short
and music from the soundtrack of "Once
Upon a Time in America" for their free
skate. Their exhibition program is "You're
the One That I Want" from the musical
"Grease." "Everybody brings in music
and we decide together what to use," Just said.
"We are using the same music as last season."
Both
skaters are studying through correspondence courses
on the Internet. Vartmann has three years left in
high school, while Just is in his first year of
university studies in economics. He hopes to be
some kind of manager, perhaps of a sports facility.
She hopes to have a career in fashion design and
designs some skating costumes now.
Vartmann
likes to draw to relax. Her subjects include flowers
and fantasy. She also likes to shop. Just prefers
working on his computer, designing websites for
the couple and other skaters. He also enjoys snowboarding
and soccer.